Butterfly
by MarieAmethyst
Summary: Link spies a butterfly in the woods...and his heart.


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Author's Note: My first completed Zelda story! This was written during Church (I know, I know…), and dedicated to my 'butterfly', Tobias. I love you, vriend! This deals more with what happened in OoT, and the ending scene between Link and Zelda never happened. I'm a major LxZ fan, sometimes LxMalon. This is a LxZ story, so if you don't like that, don't flame me! I don't own Zelda (or Link for that matter), so no suing me! I'm poor as it is…all I could give you was chocolate, but that would be over my dead body! Yes, I'm weird. Well, enjoy the story! And if you have any questions/comments/whatever e-mail me or post something at my board: [http://pub43.ezboard.com/bamethystsanimerealm][1] Thanks! ~Marie~

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"If I had wings and could fly I would still walk with you"   
**-Unknown**

Butterfly

He watched as the butterfly continued to flutter above the girl's face. She smiled slightly, the only motion she seemed to make. To him, se appeared to be a fey, a sprite of the woods. Her hair was like the rays of the sun, her skin like the tears of the moon. The white dress she wore was spread out around her, and could belong to only one person. The Princess Zelda of Hyrule.

She needed no crown or standard to proclaim her so, for her regal beauty and the royal presence about her was enough. Even now, lying there with a butterfly above her face, it was clear. But that was not the only way he knew who she was. He had met her before, when she asked him to help save her kingdom from the evil master of Darkness, Ganon. As a boy, he had been filled with heroic thoughts, and a princess in need appealed to those thoughts.

Now, a year later, and the evil banished from the land, everything had returned to the way it had been. Except he, and the Princess Zelda, were no longer children. He had been surprised when he awoke from the seven year sleep he had been cast into had done. Gone was the small body and childish features. He now stood taller than most. His features were sharper, stronger and muscles were outlined by his green tunic. And Zelda…

Standing behind the thick trees, hidden in the shadows, he could still see he wasn't the only one changed in body. Her white dress couldn't disguise her form; it instead enhanced her curves she received when she reached womanhood. Her lips that the butterfly placed a kiss on were red and full. The golden hair fanned out from her head, a single flower resting next to her right ear. As he watched, she smiled even wider, careful not to startle the butterfly that was fluttering over her eyelids.

He sighed quietly, the familiar feelings of desire racing through him. They came whenever he pictured her face in his mind, imagined the sweetness of her lips. His boyhood crush hadn't disappeared over the years; it had only gotten stronger for her. Many times he had thought about riding up to the castle and confessing how he felt. But each time he rejected the idea, fearing she wouldn't deem him worthy enough. She needed a prince by her side, not some boy from the forest. He envied the butterfly, which touched that beautiful face, free of restraint and who caused that smile to play about her lips.

Sighing again, he turned and walked silently toward his horse, Epona. He had to leave before he did something, before he wasted his chance. Mounting, he gathered strands of Epona's mane in his hands, and settled himself on her back. Then, after one last glance at the sunlit grove where his heart laid basking in the sun, he set off.

The sun was setting; the land bathed in the rosy glow as the last of the rays bade farewell. He saw his destination ahead of him. Lon Lon Ranch, owned by the father of his friend Malon. He often stopped by for a few days, to see how Malon was doing, or if he needed some time away from the world. For all the things she had done for him, she was one of his best friends.

He rode up to the gates, but instead of Malon meeting him as she usually did, Talon stood waiting, a small package grasped in his hand. He rode up to him and dismounted, knowing the fat rancher would reveal what the package was in his own time. He was right.

"A royal messenger came today, from the Princess Zelda. For you," he drawled and thrust the package into his hands.

Staring down, he turned it over in his hands curiously. Written across the top in a graceful script, was his name. Carefully undoing it, he found a letter and a smaller object wrapped in white silk. His heart pounded, he had finally received something from Zelda. But what, he wondered. He was about to open the letter when he remembered that Talon still stood in front of him. Whatever the Princess had to say to him, he didn't want Talon to see it. Some things just weren't meant to be shared with friends.

After Epona was placed in the field to graze, he quickly strode to his room. It was furnished with the essentials, but he paid them no attention, his mind fixed on the package in his hands. Sitting on the edge of the brightly quilted bed, he set the box next to him and picked up the letter. Breaking the seal of Hyrule on it, he read the Princess's flowing hand:

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Dear Link,

Next time you're around, don't stay in the shadows.

You're not the lightest stepper.

There's a ball in a fortnight; will you be my escort?

Love,

Zelda

__

P.S. I hope you like your gift.

He reread the letter again, to make sure he hadn't imagined what she wrote. Reassured, he set the letter aside and picked up the other item. Removing the silk, he found himself holding a silver butterfly brooch, a single emerald embedded stone in the middle. He grinned ruefully, Zelda knew all along he was watching her, and had guessed his thoughts as well. And now he had a date. Perhaps he did stand a chance with her. Link grinned bigger; he would just have to see.

   [1]: http://pub43.ezboard.com/bamethystsanimerealm



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